


Cyrus, Comic Books, and Catholicism

by cyrus is a goodman (hashtag_fangirling)



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Light Angst, M/M, Sexuality Crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 04:14:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13628409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hashtag_fangirling/pseuds/cyrus%20is%20a%20goodman
Summary: When the Catholic-raised Jonah Beck moves to New York City for college, he didn't expect to become friends with him roommate, especially when his roommate was gay.





	Cyrus, Comic Books, and Catholicism

Jonah Beck’s stress levels soared higher than usual.

Jonah Beck was amongst one of the millions of senior boys applying to colleges across the country. Living in the small town of Apple Valley, Utah, Jonah hadn’t really had the opportunity to travel much. The furthest he had previously travelled was to Salt Lake City where his top school, University of Utah, was located. The school was relatively small, was extremely cheap with his football scholarships, and was close enough to a Catholic church. However, his dream school was in New York: NYU. With their Division 1 football team in one of the best cities for business, Jonah could not fathom his love for the university.

And after weeks of anticipating his decision, Jonah finally discovered that he accomplished his dream of becoming a football player at NYU. And after a painful three weeks filled with sleepless nights and hidden sobs in the closet under the stairs, Jonah was finally ready to depart from his family. The only people who he knew closely were his mother and father, who taught Jonah all about Catholicism and the importance of the Bible. Without them, Jonah would have never understood the importance of having a relationship with God.

The plane to New York was a hassle. After accidentally bumping into strangers in the small aisles and being pushed to the middle, Jonah promised himself never to ride a plane again. He spent the rest of the ride twiddling his thumbs and shaking his leg, anticipating the first dramatic change in this life--college.

[...]

Jonah got out of the taxi and stood in front of his new home. His eyes widened as he gaped at the “Student Resource” building. Breathtaken by the enormous building, Jonah finally realized that he would be living on his own. After opening the building door, Jonah followed the signs towards the housing. His eyes were glued to the white tiles on the floor as he made his way towards his housing arrangements.

Upon arrival, Jonah noticed a young woman at the “Housing Desk” table. As Jonah approached the desk, the woman looked up and smiled.

“How may I help you?”

Jonah twiddled his thumbs as he stated, “I’m Jonah Beck. I’m a part of the honors program and I need my room key.” As he addressed her, Jonah considered this interaction to be the most awkward ever. Even though he is usually a human sunbeam, the idea of moving to a new city across the country freaked him out.

“Oh, great! I found your key,” remarked the woman as she handed him his key. “Your roommate has already checked in. Here’s a map, a backpack, and a water bottle!”

Jonah took the free merchandise and used the map to locate his room. He trekked the city campus to find Brittany Hall, as listed on his key. He was awestruck by the enormous buildings and compact streets which he hadn’t ever seen in Bandera.

After making his way through Brittany Hall, Jonah used his new room key to unlock his dorm room. He took a deep breath in, and then anxiously opened the door.

It was obvious that his roommate had already made himself at home. The walls were covered in numerous movie posters. The wall next to his roommate’s bed was decorated in warm white christmas lights with various photos strung all throughout the lights. His desk was covered with various types of pens and highlighters and sticky notes of all different colors and sizes.

Astonished by his roommate’s interior design skill, Jonah did not notice his new roommate had turned around to greet him. He had black way hair cut to the nape of his neck and caramel brown eyes. He was a couple of inches shorter and was most definitely leaner than Jonah. He smiled at Jonah and said, “You must be my new roommate. I’m Cyrus.” He held his hand out, so Jonah smiled and returned the gesture.

“I’m Jonah.” Meeting new people was never a major obstacle for him, but something about being here in New York City made him anxious. Maybe it was that his family was back home in Utah or the warmth of the fairy lights on Cyrus’s cheek, but he could feel butterflies in his stomach. His eyes glazed over the hardwood flooring before meeting Cyrus’s gaze. Instinctively putting his hands behind his body, Jonah tried to find a way to make himself shrink.

“Nice to meet you, Jonah. Since I got here yesterday, I already picked out my side of the room. The other side’s completely yours, so feel free to do whatever you want with it.”

He turned back around to finish pinning photos upon the wire of the fairy lights. Listening to Cyrus, Jonah unzipped his suitcase and automatically took out his most important item: his family Bible. He walked over towards his desk and placed his most prized possession on top of his desk. After it made a loud  _ thud _ , Cyrus turned around and glared at the Bible on the table.

Cyrus met Jonah’s gaze and chuckled, “You aren’t one of those God-loving maniacs, right? Because if you are, we’re going to have a lot of problems, hun.”

Avoiding any conflict, Jonah shook his head, placing the Bible on the top shelf in the closet. He had just made his first friend, and he definitely didn’t need any problems between Cyrus and himself, especially on move-in day

Cyrus looked content and went back to his business, while Jonah let out a breath he did not know he was holding in.

[...]

Since moving into his dorm room and meeting Cyrus, a month had already passed by. Jonah was wrapped up in his classes for his major: marketing management. By being a part of the honors program, he had to take two extra classes which imposed a great deal of additional work on his already packed schedule. One of the classes, Introduction to Electricity, left him completely confused for hours after class. And, he had weekly meetings for the Bobcats for Catholicism, a group he joined on campus. He barely had time to even talk to Cyrus, yet alone become better friends with him. Anyways, Cyrus was usually gone whenever Jonah returned back to his dorm after nights of studying in the library.

One October day, while he was in the library, Jonah befriended a girl named Andi Mack. She sat down at his table one day, ogling at the electrical textbook resting upon his table. While astrophysics was just one of his prerequisites, she was majoring in it. Andi had straight black hair that was cut to her shoulders. Her light brown eyes gleamed when she talked about her majors: fashion design and electrical engineering. Jonah could not help but be drawn to her, as she glowed with an aura of confidence. No matter the subject, Jonah saw her passion radiating. They both sat at the table and talked for hours with topics including their families and their lives at home. And by the end of the night, Jonah knew that Andi’s dream in life was to create cheap programmable clothing that could eliminate the taxing cost of clothing for the homeless while generating enough thermal energy to heat them up. 

So, Jonah had officially made his first real friend.

After returning to his dorm room and seeing that Cyrus wasn’t there, Jonah took his Bible out of the closet and read for a few hours before going to sleep.

[...]

Once the November wind hit, Jonah definitely missed home. Back in Utah, the weather was always humid, and it was always warm. Since Jonah had not previously been exposed to weather under fifty degrees, the clothes he brought were primarily athletic shorts and football jerseys.

_ What an idiotic move on my part _ , Jonah thought.  _ How did I forget to buy new clothes? _

Bundled innumerous blankets, Jonah created a fortress on his bed to protect himself from the frigid coldness while doing his daily Bible study. Shivering and shaking under the blanket barrier, Jonah could not help but regret his ignorance of New York weather.

Under the blanket, he heard the door swinging open. Hiding the Bible in the folds of the blanket, Jonah peeked his head out just enough to see Cyrus’s figure enter the room. Cyrus turned his gaze towards Jonah’s bed and let out a laugh. Jonah’s cheeks burned from embarrassment, as he knew that he would have to explain why he had the world’s largest supply of comforters on his bed.

“I forgot that New York City was cold and didn’t pack anything warm. Don’t laugh.”

Of course, Cyrus hunched over and wrapped his arms around his torso as to try holding in the oncoming cackle threatening to flow out of him. After taking a few minutes to sit down and recollect himself, Cyrus walked towards his closet and pulled out a sweatshirt with the words “Central Perk’s Barista” written across the front. Cyrus then proceeded to throw it at Jonah’s head.

Jonah could not believe that coffee shops in New York gave their employees sweatshirts.

Cyrus walked towards the wall and grabbed the keys to his car and said, “Get ready, we’re going shopping.” Cyrus left the room, leaving Jonah under the blankets with nothing but his hidden Bible.

Jonah didn’t want to get up, but the cocoa-and-caramel scented sweatshirt made Jonah wonder if the owner of the sweatshirt smelled like that too.

[...]

After an eventful Saturday morning shopping, Jonah was pleasantly surprised with his new wardrobe. He was not a fan of shopping, but Cyrus had a sharp eye for fashion and was able to pick out nice clothes for him. Thankfully, everything was well-suited for cold weather.

Not only did he get a new wardrobe, but he also made a new friend. Cyrus was a really nice guy to be around, despite his prior impressions. He was originally shy, but the more that Jonah got to know him, the more talkative Jonah became. The two boys bonded over a common love of comic books (although Jonah enjoyed Marvel superheroes like Spider-Man while Cyrus liked DC superheroes like Superman) and alfredo sauce (Cyrus promised Jonah that he would take him to Olive Garden, which served the best alfredo sauce). The two even stopped at a Starbucks and discovered they both enjoyed caramel macchiatos with whipped cream on top.

By the end of the night, Jonah and Cyrus didn’t want to return to their dorm room. Jonah knew he had to wake up early for church the next day, but this was his first opportunity to explore New York City and create a friendship at the same time.

The two tried to spark up some ideas about how to continue the night. Jonah recommended a movie, but Cyrus shook his head, stating that a movie was not something that recently befriended people do.

Cyrus volunteered, “We should go to a nightclub! There’s a club just around the corner.”

Interested in the idea, Jonah went with the suggestion, even though he had never been to a club before. The closest thing to a nightclub he’d ever been too was the seventh grade semi-formal, where the teachers made sure that all the boys were standing ten feet away from the girls.

Jonah and Cyrus hopped into the car while Cyrus drove towards the nightclub. On the ride, Cyrus told Jonah about how he was raised as an only child in New York City by four shrinks. Jonah found it funny how Cyrus found it funny that his shrink parents both married other shrinks after their divorce.

Cyrus parked the car, opened the door for Jonah, and walked him over to the entrance on the night club.

“The best nightclub in New York City is by far Club Evolution. My friend took me here over the summer, and it was my most memorable yet. Come on in!” Jonah felt Cyrus grab his hand as he was sucked into the partying world.

The minute he walked in, Jonah’s mouth dropped. Multicolored strobe lights flashed throughout the dance floor. There were side balconies overlooking the main dance floor. The DJ was on the stage, mixing some music that Jonah normally would not listen too, but surprisingly enjoyed. There were hundreds of people dancing on the dancefloor and drinking at the bar, but everyone looked like they were having a good time . Jonah was sure he would have enjoyed himself until he saw four letters printed on the wall. 

L.G.B.T.

Suddenly mortified, Jonah turned back towards the man beside him. Cyrus was smiling, evidently overjoyed by the chaos around him.

“Wait, is this a gay club?” was the only thing that Jonah managed to squeak out. The foundation of Jonah’s being was violated by everything happening in that room. Every since he was little, his parents had actively told him that homosexuality was bad and something that would send one to hell. And just by being in that room, Jonah felt he was betraying God.

“Well, of course it is!” Cyrus saw the incredulous look on Jonah's face and proceed with his explanation. “First off, I’m gay, so that might have been better to clarify beforehand. Second off, there’s a drag show calling our names. Come on!”

In that moment, Jonah learned that Cyrus had an obsession with dragging people into rooms by the wrist. While he did not want to go in, he decided to keep his mouth shut in the name of friendship and a ride home. Seeing that the benefits of friendship outweighed the disadvantages, Jonah reluctantly tagged along to watch what his friend called “Drag.”

The rest of the night was spent meeting new people who identified with the LGBT community. The experience was eye-opening and helped Jonah feel more empathetic towards people in that community. Realizing that these people were worth more than just a label, Jonah decided to use this uncomfortable experience as a way to educate himself about New York culture, something completely different from his home state of Texas.

As the night came to an end, Cyrus and Jonah hopped in the car and headed back towards their dorm. Cyrus discussed his journey as a gay teenager and how he had a hard time being accepted by his peers. 

Jonah thought he would be disgusted sitting in a car with a homosexual. And yet, he was disgusted at the people like him who he had treated wrongly from the beginning.

After arriving home, Cyrus changed and fell back-first onto his bed.

Jonah, on the other hand, wanted to learn as much as he could about the history of homosexuality in the United States. He snuck under his blankets with his Bible, his laptop, and Cyrus’ sweatshirt, which he confirmed smells like its owner.

[...]

December in New York City was nothing like Jonah had ever experienced before. While the temperature had became increasingly colder, the lights in the city only got brighter. Andi and Jonah would sometimes takes strolls on Times Square, watching the lights flash over the pedestrians and oogle at the craftsmanship of the inventors before them. While he enjoyed those walks, Jonah loved spending Wednesday afternoons sprawled on the floor of his dorm room reading comic books with Cyrus just a little more.

There was something about the way Cyrus’s caramel eyes glided over the pages that made Jonah want to look at him more. The slight frown on his crimson lips and the way his nose shrivelled were more fascinating than any Spider-Man comic he’d ever read.

Not only that, but whenever he laughed, Jonah could see the stars floating in the brown of his corneas. The squint of his eyes were a beautiful detail like something seen on a Michelangelo sculpture. The curve of his lips was all Jonah needed to make him happy.

And whenever Cyrus was not at their dorm, Jonah sat his butt down in his bed with his laptop and his Bible and read numerous online resources about sexuality. He felt a moral obligation towards Cyrus to understand more about his best friend’s identity. He even took an LGBT studies class as a form of self-education.

Everything was all swimmingly until Cyrus came into their dorm room one Friday evening, fidgeting with a pencil and scattering his eyes everywhere but Jonah’s eyes.

Rocking a little from side to side, Cyrus looked down at his thumbs and mumbled, “So, I might bring guys into the room. Does that bother you too much?”

A little startled, the reserved Jonah just shook his head a little. He did not have anything against gays, at this point, so the idea of Cyrus bringing a guy was not troubling.

Cyrus smiled and said, “Thanks, brah,” while simultaneously wrapping his arms around his best friend in a hug. Jonah had never felt so empty after a hug.

[...]

By February, Jonah experienced his first snowfall. Andi and Jonah were taking their weekly stroll when the heavens rained down upon them with frosty cotton balls. Andi just laughed as Jonah twirled around in the snow, astonished by the power of nature’s beauty.

But he also had his downs. Cyrus would constantly bring boys to their dorm room. He knew that he shouldn’t mind after all he learned about the LGBT community, but every single time a new guy showed up in the dorm, Jonah felt uncomfortable for reasons he did not understand. Cyrus had invited boys there since the end of December, and Jonah started to spend most of his time in the library with Andi.

As much as he loved rambling on about electrical circuits and the significance of switches with her, he missed nights where Cyrus and he would stay up for hours arguing about Netflix shows or novels. He missed drawing in random Superhero coloring books and arguing about how the world was going to end.

One night in February, as Andi and Jonah were taking their regular strolls, Andi turned to him with a serious expression. Her hands were shaking, and her eyes avoided his gaze.

She looked up at him and asked, “So, I was wonder if you wanted to go out sometime.”

Oblivious, Jonah looked at her and remarked, “We go out all of the time.”

She looked nervous and said, “Well, I mean on an actual date.”

Jonah scrunched his eyes in confusion until he realized that she was being serious. Well, Andi was amazing and was everything he would want in a woman. She was smart, knowledgeable, kind, and charismatic, but there was something a little off about dating her.

He politely declined, stating that he did not share the same feelings for her. She nodded and ran towards her dorm, hiding her tears from her face.

[...]

For the next couple of days, the skies screamed as the campus was bombarded by lightning showers and booming thunder heard all across campus. The weather was so dangerous that classes had been cancelled, meaning that neither Jonah nor Cyrus could not leave their dorm room until the weather cleared.

Being stuck in a dormitory with only Cyrus was suffocating. The only thing Jonah could think about was how he did not have feelings for Andi. Sleepless nights with his Bible beside him in the covers left him wondering what was wrong with him. She was talented, successful, and gorgeous. He could not pinpoint her flaw?

Cyrus decided to pull the covers up from Jonah’s bed and force him out of his bed.

“Rise and shine, dude. Let’s color.” Grabbing the coloring books from his drawer and the colored pencils from his desk, Cyrus laid down on his stomach and proceeded to fill in the black and white Batman on the second page of his coloring book.

Jonah got up, put on Cyrus’s Central Perk sweatshirt that he had kept for the past few months, and proceeded to lay himself down on Cyrus’s left. He reached over Cyrus’s arm to grab a green colored pencil for his rendition of the Hulk, but accidentally fell on top of Cyrus’s arm.

Jonah’s head had managed to fall right in front of Cyrus’s lips with only inches between them. Jonah’s breathing rapidly increased, as did Cyrus’s. He quickly pulled his hand back towards his side and cheekily grinned.

In that moment, Jonah realized why Andi was not right for him. Andi did not party at gay nightclubs for fun. Andi did not collect movie posters or hang up fairy lights along her walls. Andi did not count the amount of DC superheroes who helped save the universe to prove that Marvel characters sucked. Andi did not smell like cocoa or caramel or anything between. And most of all, Andi was not the boy laying in front of him in that moment.

Cyrus’s eyes trailed his face all the way down to his lips. There was nothing but passion in his eyes.

In that moment, Jonah could not think about his parents’ preachings on how dating boys was sinful and how important it was to find a nice young lady to marry. Jonah could not think about the Bible hidden under the depths of his blankets. Jonah could not think about Andi asking him out.

In that moment, he would not survive without the touch of Cyrus’s lips on his.

Closing the distance between them, Jonah gladly wanted to survive with Cyrus, even if it meant going to hell.

As soon as their lips touched, the lightning outside stopped to free up some sparks for the two boys next to the coloring books.

[...]

By the time Spring Break approached, the sunshine was out and Jonah and Cyrus were inseparable. Anywhere they went, they went together. Neither of them were afraid to hold each other’s hand on campus or give each other quick kisses on the cheek before classes.

Jonah talked to Andi about his relationship with Cyrus to leave for Spring Break on a clean slate. She completely understood and the two still remained the best of friends. Andi even introduced both Jonah and Cyrus to her roommate Buffy Driscoll and her boyfriend Marty. Andi could not stop talking about how the two were the fastest male and the fastest female on the NYU track team and how perfect they were for each other.

Before leaving for Texas, Jonah said goodbye to his best friend and his boyfriend before riding the cab back to the John F. Kennedy airport.

While last time he swore never to ride on planes again, this ride was comforting, as he was perched next to the aisle, leaving him with easy access to the flight attendants and the bathroom. With his Bible visibly in his hand, Jonah was able to relax. Leaving behind his new life in New York was frightening because now, he would have to confront his parents about not being the heterosexual child they wanted.

As soon as he exited the airport, he saw his mom and engulfed her in a warm and endearing hug. While he may have been afraid of confronting his mother, he had not seen her in a very long time.

On the car ride home, his mother asked him if he had met any girls.

“No,” was the simplest reply he could give. He did not feel like getting into a discussion about Andi being a girl, but she does not their definition of meeting any girls.

“Well, darling. There’s an event at church this Saturday. You should attend! There will be many beautiful girls!”

Rolling his eyes, Jonah kept his mouth shut and secretly texted Cyrus on his phone.

By the time Saturday arrived, Jonah was anything but excited. Dressed in a formal shirt and khakis with his Bible in hand, he was annoyed to be attending an event in which his parents would force him to mingle with the opposite sex.

Upon arrival, Jonah headed for the food table because that was the one place not dominated by girls. Grabbing a few donuts and a handful of skittles, Jonah made his way towards a table in the back of the room. As the night went on, Jonah could tell that his parents were infuriated by the fact that he had not gotten up for two hours. When they approached him, he tried to talk about how he was tired and did not want to interact with anyone else.

His parents saw through his fallacy, questioning him with, “Honey, what’s going on?”

Jonah knew that he could not keep it up any long. He did not want to keep his identity or his boyfriend a secret from his parents.

After taking a deep breath, Jonah lifted the heaviest burden off of his shoulders. Pressing the Bible against his heart, Jonah mustered up the courage to say, “Mom. Dad. I’m gay.”

Never had he seen two parents silently freak out as much as his parents. Both remained quiet for a few minutes before his mother said, “Okay, let’s get you home.”

Driving home was a strange experience as his parents were both visibly disappointed in him and much more quiet than usual. After returning home, Jonah ran up to him room and locked the door as he sobbed, knowing that he let his parents down.

[...]

A week had gone by and Jonah had not left his room for any reason besides showering and eating. He spent the week on his laptop facetiming Cyrus and reading his Bible. His parents kept their distance, not wanting to infringe on his privacy.

On the Friday Jonah had to leave, his parents decided to sit him down and talk to him. Seated on a living room sofa, Jonah’s foot trembled in fear and anxiety.

His parents had meek smiles as his mom said, “Honey, we know that this is a tough time for you. After talking this over for a couple of weeks, we are proud of you. Your father and I read over the Bible again and determined that it’s not who you love. It’s  _ how _ you love, and that’s the only thing that matters in God’s eyes.”

Absolutely astonished, Jonah’s frown turned into the world’s biggest grin and he jumped over the coffee table to hug his parents. His parents were happy, Cyrus was happy, and he was happy. Hugging the Bible that was previously on the table, Jonah was not ashamed of the man he became in the last month.

[...]

The rest of the school year was nothing short from exciting. Jonah and Cyrus spent most of the sunny days together, making sure to not leaving Andi, Buffy, and Marty out of the picture. Jonah set out to minor in LGBT studies and Catholic studies. Jonah started to leave his Bible in plain view, and even the Bible could see the love between two boys coloring on the ground.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please give me feedback!! Thank you for reading!


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